National Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:NKSH) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest fell 25.2% to 55,881 shares as of April 15, leaving a short-interest ratio of just 0.6 days and about 0.9% of shares sold short, indicating reduced bearish positioning.
• Quarterly results beat expectations: NKSH reported $0.78 EPS vs. $0.65 expected and $15.3M revenue vs. $14.5M expected, with a return on equity of 10.53% and analysts forecasting ~2.82 EPS for the year.
• Analyst sentiment improved—Weiss Ratings upgraded NKSH to a "buy" and Wall Street Zen moved it to "hold," leaving the consensus rating at "Buy."

National Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:NKSH - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 55,881 shares, a decrease of 25.2% from the March 31st total of 74,712 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 86,006 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.6 days. Currently, 0.9% of the company's shares are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On National Bankshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of National Bankshares by 266.9% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 4,183 shares of the bank's stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 3,043 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming boosted its holdings in shares of National Bankshares by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,965 shares of the bank's stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of National Bankshares by 45.2% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,067 shares of the bank's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 643 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of National Bankshares by 398.9% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,746 shares of the bank's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of National Bankshares by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 244,505 shares of the bank's stock worth $8,198,000 after buying an additional 12,698 shares in the last quarter. 29.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on NKSH. Weiss Ratings upgraded National Bankshares from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded National Bankshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, National Bankshares presently has an average rating of "Buy".

National Bankshares Trading Down 2.6%

NKSH stock traded down $0.96 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $35.75. The company had a trading volume of 37,874 shares, compared to its average volume of 34,137. The business has a 50-day moving average of $37.04 and a 200-day moving average of $34.08. National Bankshares has a one year low of $24.74 and a one year high of $40.00. The stock has a market cap of $227.73 million, a PE ratio of 13.00 and a beta of 0.69.

National Bankshares (NASDAQ:NKSH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $15.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.50 million. National Bankshares had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 20.39%. Research analysts forecast that National Bankshares will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

National Bankshares Company Profile

National Bankshares, Inc is a Virginia-based bank holding company headquartered in Reston. Through its primary subsidiaries, National Bank of Blacksburg and The Bank of Giles and Montgomery, the company offers a full suite of community banking services to individuals, small businesses and nonprofit organizations.

The company’s core activities include deposit-taking, consumer and commercial lending, mortgage origination and servicing, trust and wealth management, and electronic banking platforms.

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